Jonathan the Tortoise: 193 Years Old and a Viral Crypto Scam

A creature born before the telegraph, who has met multiple generations of British royalty in person, recently became the target of a viral cryptocurrency death scam at the staggering estimated age of 193. Jonathan the giant tortoise bridges two impossibly different worlds.This episode unpacks the near two-century life of the oldest known living land animal, who resides on the remote island of St. Helena. It examines the photographic and historical evidence proving his age, the medical and social support keeping him alive, and how an animal whose life began in the 1830s ended up as bait in a 2026 financial crime that fooled major news outlets.How an 1886 photograph and his fully-mature 1882 arrival date establish a hatch year no later than 1832His blindness from cataracts and lost sense of smell, requiring a specialized government diet since 2016His companion Frederick, another male tortoise introduced in 1991, and their daily bondRoyal visits spanning from King George VI in 1947 to Prince Edward in 2024, plus his 2022 Guinness World RecordThe April 2026 fake-veterinarian post that the BBC, AP, and CNN reported before St. Helena confirmed he was still alive